Make U.s. Holiday Fit For King, Leaders Say

November 08, 1985

Leading civic and religious leaders in Chicago are hoping that the first national observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.`s birthday next Jan. 20 will be marked by the ringing of church bells and the coming together in prayer of people of different races and faiths.

Though the late civil rights leader`s birthday has been a state holiday for more than a decade, the national holiday became law only last year.

During a meeting Wednesday at the headquarters of Johnson Publishing Co., 820 S. Michigan Ave., speakers said they hoped the celebration would be, in the words of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Catholic archbishop of Chicago, ``more than a day off.``

King, a Baptist minister who became a catalyst for the civil rights movement in the United States, was slain in Memphis in 1968.

King`s widow, Coretta Scott King, who with others lobbied for 16 years to have her husband honored with a federal holiday, told those at the meeting that the day may best be spent in reflection on King`s ideals of nonviolence and justice.

``As we approach this holiday, we`ve got to understand his message and his meaning as we never have done before,`` she said.

In addition to promoting statewide celebrations, a state commission appointed by Gov. James Thompson is urging local organizations to sponsor activities to honor King. Chicago will be host to an interdenominational prayer meeting and concert of sacred music on Jan. 19.